We landed in Entebbe, Uganda last Sunday night to the smells, sounds and realities of Africa. Although we had reserved our rooms at the Entebbe Flight Motel some time in advance, we discovered that the rooms had been rented out to others. So, after our entourage made the short trip to the motel, we found ourselves in two “dorm” rooms, each sleeping 6. It was quite a group – 9 EPI teachers with three or four bags apiece, tired and bedraggled from nearly 24 hours of coping with planes and airports. It took two trips with the motel van to ferry all the people and luggage. The next morning, after a quick shower and a good breakfast of fruit and toast, six of us left for Mbale in two vehicles. (The other three were headed to Mbarara – in the opposite direction.)
Any drive in Africa is an adventure, and this was no exception. After some errands in Kampala, we were to stop on the eastern side of the city to fill up with gas, but our driver got lost and we took an unintended hour-long tour of several residential sections. Numerous dead ends, potholed streets and cell phone conferences later, we were able to retrace our steps and meet up with our companions. We ate a late lunch in Jinja, near the Nile R., after being accosted by two armed soldiers for taking pictures of the Nile bridge. (It appears that taking such pictures is forbidden unless, of course, you pay the 10,000 shilling fine – about $6 – that the soldiers immediately pocketed.) After lunch, we bounced along a seemingly endless portion of this main road that has remained unpaved for years, dodging on-coming traffic and alternately rolling our windows up when the dust became too bad and down for ventilation. Eventually, just as the sun was going down, we reached Mbale and settled into our home for the next week, the Dreamland Guest House.
Mbale has one of the most beautiful settings that I have seen in Africa. A several thousand foot escarpment rises sharply to the east of the town, its bulk hiding the much higher Mt. Elgon that sits behind it on the Uganda/Kenya border. With its verdant slopes and numerous waterfalls, the escarpment looks like a setting for “Land of the Lost.” Susan, Ray Warwick and I were at this same location last summer, for the inauguration of the Christian Education curriculum. This trip, I returned with Doug Bond and Dick Hannula to teach the same curriculum to a new group of teachers. Doug and Dick are both ruling elders at one of our supporting churches, Faith Presbyterian Church in Tacoma, WA.
Our conference work began on Tuesday morning. Actually, there were three EPI conferences running simultaneously. We were doing Christian Education, Don Mountain and his team were teaching Biblical Counseling and Les Miller was teaching a small conference on technology, using the 10 refurbished laptops he had brought with him. (That explains much of the luggage we toted!) This conference schedule evidences the growth of EPI in the last several years, both in number of teams and also in focus of our equipping. We have come to realize that God is bringing Reformation to Africa and, as with the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, it moves beyond pastors to educators and to the intelligent use of available technology. May the Lord use our small efforts for His glory!
Each day we drove the muddy, severely rutted “road” to the Green Pastures compound. (It has been raining here almost daily.) Our passage always provoked the curiosity of the neighborhood and we often accompanied by a small parade of children who easily kept up with our slow crawl down the path. The teaching began about 9:30 am, after a time of prayer and singing, and continued until lunch around 2:00 pm. The participants – over 200 in the three conferences – then lined up for their lunch, which was cooked on site over an open fire. As the special guests, we walked to the conference coordinator’s house to each our lunch there. Since we ate the same food as did the conferees, it was always an African meal: beans, rice, chicken or beef, greens and the Ugandan staple of matooke (steamed green bananas). Stuffed to the gills after lunch, we taught for another couple hours and usually finished about 5:00 pm. After returning to the guest house and cleaning up, we often went out for a late supper: eating about 8:30 pm and falling in bed sometime around 10 pm.
About 50 teachers and administrators attended our educators’ conference, and we had a wonderful time teaching them about Biblical Worldview and its application to a truly Christian Education. Their quick grasp of the concepts and the feedback we received in the Q & A sessions were both very encouraging. In our discussions with these educators, they suggested that although the truths they were learning were transforming their thinking, they needed regular reinforcement of these truths if they hoped to continue in them. On their own, they met on Wednesday evening to lay out the structure for an organization, the Christian Spiritual Concern Mission Uganda (CSCM). Their goal is to take these truths and to use them to transform their schools and, through them, Ugandan society. Their proposal stated that one of the specific objectives of CSCM is “to extend the new approach of Christian Education to a minimum of 65% of the Christian founded schools and churches.” This, along with their other objectives, sets an ambitious goal. But we are taught in Scripture not to despise the day of small things. It shows how serious they are about implementing what they have learned. Pray for these dear brothers and sisters as they seek to “bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. I have agreed, at their request, to remain involved and to provide counsel and mentoring throughout the coming year via email. We praise God for such results!
Our fellowship here in Mbale has been sweet. I have been able to renew friendship with Barasa Philemon, the conference coordinator, and his wife Harriet. Also, we have spent a lot of time with Pastor Nelson and his wife Agnes. These dear folks are being used by God to establish a model school in Green Pasture Outreach, and their vision is to see this kind of Biblical equipping of pastors and educators extended throughout Uganda. To this end, they are thrilled with their partnership with EPI. In fact, at dinner on Thursday night, I spoke for some time with Barasa about training 10-15 Ugandan couples to teach the EPI Marriage Conference. Marriages in Africa are in terrible shape and having these trainers would greatly broaden the reach of God’s truth.
On Friday, we scheduled a visit to a local coffee processing plant. Dick and Doug enjoyed the tour, but I was ambushed by some kind of virus and spent the day in bed instead. Saturday we traveled into the mountains to visit Sipi Falls. The region called Kapchurwa boasts beautiful mountain scenery and abundant waterfalls. The beauty reminded us of the greatness of the God we serve. Tomorrow, we will each be preaching in a separate church here in Mbale. Monday we leave for Kaberamaido and our second conference. Thank you for your prayers. This ministry depends upon your faithful support.
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